Operations are carried out under local anaesthetic, with patients walking out of the clinic following treatment, as part of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation trust’s podiatry service which covers Northumberland and North Tyneside.

People are referred by community podiatry teams and GPs, which provides joined up care for patients closer to home at their local hospital centre.

Mr Gibbard said: “Using local anaesthetic means we can operate on relatively poorly people who are not well enough for a general anaesthetic, so they can still get the relief they need from painful conditions.”